The Exotic Creature that is M&M’s White Chocolate!

CC_White Chocolate M&M TITLE PLATEHi, everybody!  I’d like to apologize for being absent this past week.  I’ve been very busy with non-candy-related work, all the while battling allergies that turned into a hard-to-shake cold.  So my normal candy time was spent sleeping.

I’m finally feeling better and I have a fun little post for today dedicated to that exotic creature that is M&M’s White Chocolate!

To the best of my knowledge, back in the early 2000’s when white chocolate was making its way into limited editions of brands like Twix, KitKat, Reese’s, and Take-5 – it never arrived to M&M’s.

I believe the first example of a white chocolate M&M came in the summer of 2006 when M&M’s celebrated the release of the film Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Man’s Chest:

Mars - M&M's White Chocolate Pirate Pearls - Pirates of the Carribbean Dead Man's Chest - 1.5 oz candy package - Summer 2006

Mars – M&M’s White Chocolate Pirate Pearls – Pirates of the Carribbean Dead Man’s Chest – 1.5 oz candy package – Summer 2006

Branded as “Pirate Pearls”, these white chocolate M&M’s were the size of the normal milk chocolate M&M’s and only lasted a single season.

M&M’s White Chocolate would finally return a number of years later, for the Easter 2012 season.  This time the M&M’s were larger, more similar to an M&M’s Peanut Butter than the previously-released Pirate Pearls.   I believe these new versions were sold as a Target-Exclusive item.

While I don’t have an example of the Easter 2012 variety in my own collection, my candy-colleague Cybele has a lovely shot of a package on CandyBlog.net – she also reviews the candy there:

M&M's White Chocolate - Easter 2012 9.9oz packaging - Image courtesy Candyblog

M&M’s White Chocolate – Easter 2012 9.9oz packaging – Image courtesy Candyblog

Though I missed the 2012 Easter release of M&M’s White Chocolate, I was more fortunate this year when I found the 2013 version at Target.  These were still released during the Easter candy season though the packaging design does not include any Easter imagery, perhaps to avoid being clearanced out the day after the holiday:

Mars - M&M's White Chocolate - 9.9 oz Easter candy package - Target - March 2013

Mars – M&M’s White Chocolate – 9.9 oz Easter candy package – Target – March 2013

M&M’s White Chocolate have thus far been a one-shot release in support of a major film, and may now be an annual Easter Holiday tradition.

I am left to ponder if M&M’s White Chocolate might ever become a year-round item like KitKat White and the other similar white chocolate offshoots of standard brands?  It’s certainly possible, as is evidenced by the fact that white chocolate has already joined the standard flavor assortment for M&M’s in Brazil.

Here’s a look at a current Brazilian white chocolate M&M’s package I recently picked up:

Brazil - Mars - M&M's Chocolate Blanco - White Chocolate - candy package - 2012

Brazil – Mars – M&M’s Chocolate Blanco – White Chocolate – candy package – 2012

And that’s everything for today’s post.

See you next time!

About Jason Liebig

A New York City based writer, editor and sometimes actor. After spending much of the 1990′s in the comic book business helping tell the stories of Marvel Comics’ X-Men as series editor, he has since split his time between developing his own entertainment properties while still consulting and working on others. Having been described as “the Indiana Jones of lost and forgotten candy”, Jason is one of the country’s premier candy collectors and historians with his discoveries appearing in countless blogs, magazines, newspaper articles, and books. Always happy to share his knowledge and unique perspectives on this colorful part of our popular culture, Jason has consulted with New York’s Museum of Food and Drink and has also been a featured guest on Food Network’s Heavyweights, France’s M6 Capital, and New York’s TheActionRoom.com. My Google Profile+
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6 Responses to The Exotic Creature that is M&M’s White Chocolate!

  1. B Brown says:

    M&Ms released White Chocolate Carrot Cake M&&Ms for this Easter.

    • jasonliebig says:

      Yeah they’ve done a few flavored white chocolate variety; carrot cake, peppermint, and candy corn that I can recall. Today was all about the pure white. 🙂

  2. Fernanda says:

    As you said, Brazil has the so delicious, white chocolate M&M’s!
    But this passing days, I am thinking a lot about those white chocolate M&M’s, because their are not being sell here anymore, I guess. I can’t find them anymore and this is tearing me down ! I really can’t help my self not having it anymore.
    So I would like to know, if there you still have it as a “official” product and just as a temporary stuff!
    Thanks for your attention, Fê.

  3. Lisa says:

    Yay! I am so addicted to the White Chocolate M&Ms. I just bought some at Target yesterday. 6-30-14. I sent an email to the M&M Mars company from the M&M website last month asking if they had any intention of making these a year round item. I told them that these seasonal M&Ms were being sold on Amazon and Ebay for a ridiculous amount of money. I received an email back stating that the white chocolate flavor was soon to be shipped to stores nationwide. I was very skeptical that this was in fact the case…..until yesterday. While shopping at Target, I saw an opened box up at the front register that had not been put on the shelves yet. At first I thought that the box was just one left over from the Easter season and they were going to put them out as a clearance item but they were not!!! Much to my surprise they even had them stocked in the candy isle. They were even on sale….. 3 bags for $8 and several bags had coupons stuck on the from for $1 off per 2 bags! Now hopefully, those greedy people selling the seasonal M&Ms on Amazon and Ebay for $10 to $20 a bag, after scooping them all up from Target, won’t be able to rip off the public anymore by selling them at those ridiculous prices.
    Thank you M&M Mars!!!!

    Lisa Michaels

  4. chris says:

    You are missing the Walmart Release and technically overseas white chocolate was far more common. In Germany for example my mother picked up White Chocolate crunch bars when she was there in high school over 40 years ago.

    Anyways There are 2 you are missing M&M White Chocolate Candy Corn (which tasted like you guessed it candy corn) which I was able to find every year in the Chicago area for the last several around Halloween and the other M&M Easter release from Walmart that was White Chocolate flavored to Carrot Cake. Also for the last several years they have had a holiday release of White Chocolate flavored to Peppermint. I no longer have my bag of the walmart one but I can get another next year and my holiday one also I do not have but can get again, and the halloween M&M white Chocolate I do have a bag of if you would like me to find a way to get you pictures.

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